Monday, November 23, 2009

Wal-Mart Not All Bad

As the largest retailer in the country, Wal-Mart holds a unique position in our marketplace. While many believe they are evil, they are simply trying to maximize their profits, and they usually do so within the confines of the law (the laws need to be changed - but that's another post all together). While this is bad news for their employees, as they desperately try to keep labor wages down, it is actually becoming a good thing for the environment.

Due to the high price of oil, Wal-Mart has taken the step of trying to reduce all shipping costs, and they currently pressure all of their suppliers to use less and less packaging. While it keeps their profits high, it is also good for the environment. Furthermore, they are now developing a "green score" for every product that they carry which will be displayed next to the price sticker. Because of their tremendous market power, they can force suppliers to do this in a way that would never be possible if we still lived in the land of mom and pop stores.

So while the free market system may not be effective for everything (including labor rights, fair wages, pollution regulation, etc.), it has been effective in creating more sustainable production practices. As much as I hate on the free market system and Wal-Mart, it's only right to give credit when what they do what is right.


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

It's been a while

I guess I kind of got too busy/ignored this for a while. Not that I wanted to, it's just that life gets so busy. A lot has happened, both in the world of politics and in my personal life. At the same time, nothing has happened. HCR still isn't passed, I'm still doing the same things I've been doing for the past 2 years. So take it for what it is.

All I really want to do is relive the past few days over and over. But, I can't. So right now I'm sitting in my room, surrounded by the NYT and the Inquirer. I have to count the ads in each, for a research paper I'm doing. I have a different paper due tomorrow. Both, like almost all research papers, will be interesting when they are done, but will be tedious and boring to actually write. So while I will (hopefully) admire my work when it is done, I am in the usual position of waiting until the last minute to do it.

I guess that's all for now. Off to my life again.